Tripping mechanism



Fevb. 18, 1958 Filed June 15, 1955 c. o. MERCHANT 2,823,820

TRIFPING MECHANISM 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Enventor CHESTER O. MERCHANT WM KW Feb 18, 1958 c, MERCHANT 2,823,820

V TRIPPING MECHANISM Filed June 15, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

BY CHESTER O. MERGHANT (M. AQWAZ United States Patent 'TRIPPING Chester 0. Merchant, 'Erie,.P.a., assignor to Swanson *Tool and Machine'Products, .Inc,, Erie, -P a., a corporation of Penn ylvania Application June'lS, 1953, Serial'No. 361,797

SLCIaims. (Cl. 218-.5)

This invention relates to automatic machinery and, -more particularly, to trip devices for-recording failures in one'step in'a cycle of the operation of an automatic 'machine to prevent a later step in thecyclefromoccurring one piece of work which is being operated upon where a failure occurred in said one step in the processing thereof.

In the operation of automatic machinery in assembling small parts into unit assemblies, i t--is not only desirable -but often necessary to provide meansfor recording failures of certain primary or early stations in order to control or lock out certain functions from being performed at subsequent stations on the equipment. 'Many complicated and elaborate mechanisms have been devised "to accomplish this purpose but most of themhavebeen subject to mechanical failure and theyhave been expensive to maintain.

:To provide .a solution for the above problems, the present invention contemplates the use of a plurality of .trip devices, each made up of a cylindrical shaped rejection-pinwslidable in a cylindrical tubular member :Jfrom la first position to a second'actuated position and from afirst position to a third actuated position. The cylindrical member, when pushed to an actuated position,

is :adapted to actas a camto .open switches or other .actuatingmembers .at appropriate times or .to actuate *various members of a machine at the ;same:time or subsequenttimes as the trip device travelswith a travelling member of the machine.

For example, aplurality of trip devices may be installed on the travelling table of an automatic loading machinefor articles of manufacture and the trip devices .may beactuated by a sensing device whenat one station of the. machinea workereceiving parthas been improperly loaded. Also,,-a switch can be installed adjacent a feed- .ing mechanism ata later station on the machine so that .whenthe improperly loaded work-receivingpart passes the feeding mechanism of the later station, said switch will. be actuatedby the actuated trip device, thereby suppressing the operation of themechanismat said later station; The switches will notbe affected by trip devices which have not. been. actuated.

It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to oversome the above andother defects in prior trip devices by providing a trip device which is simple in construction, economical tomanufacture, and simple and efiicientin use.

Ajfurther object of this inventionis ,to provide a trip device which will recordunsatisfactory conditions in any given step in a cycle of operation of a machine on a given piecc of Work.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cartridge type trip device which will be universal. in. application and adapted for use on many types of automatic machines regardless of the number of operative positions employed on the machines.

:A:still further :object of this inventionis'to provide a .tt'ipudcyice :WhiC-h can .be mounted wdirectly cm the conice -veyingsection of a machine on which it is.used, or which can be mountedon a subturret of a small disk synchronized with the primaryindex device of the-machine.

Yetanotherobject of this invention is to provide a trip device which may be reset {by .means of a cam- -operated device, ,or similar, device, after indicating afailure in the cycle of operation.

Still another object-of the invention is to provide a tripdevice-which will controleither electrical or "mechanicalfunctions and which, when it has been pushed into position, will lock out later functions in the cycle of operation.

Yet still anotherobject of this invention is to provide a trip device which is adapted for use on existing machines.

Yet stillafurther object of the invention'isto provide a trip device which will require very little space for installation.

With'the above an'd'other objects inview, the present invention consists'of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated-in the-accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed .out in the appended claims, it'being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportions, and minor detailsof construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

'Fig. l is a perspective view ofwan automatic machine having the trip. device according to theinvention installed stalled and an electrical circuit therefor; and

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of a wafer-receiving device according to the invention.

Now with more specific reference ,to the drawingsria machine ,1 is shown on a base.2 with a housing 3 mounted on the base 2 at 4. Thebase 2 and the housing 3 enclose a driving mechanism operated by a.,shaft 5 which rotates an annular table6 through a conventionalindexing drive mechanism.

The rotating table 6 is surrounded by a stationary support 8 which is fixed to the housing 3 through vertical-support members 9 and 10, respectively. The b,ase.2 is provided with an inspection plate 1.1 which may be removed to inspect the driving mechanism which is ,enclosed in the base 2 and the housing 3. Stationary supports 13 and 14, which form guides for the table 6 are attached to the housing 3 at 15 and 16, respectively.

The machine described for purposes of illustration only is adapted to automaticallyinsert pins '17 into ,each wafer 18 and to upset an intermediatelpart 19 and ends 20, thereby holding the pins 17 firmly in the wafers'18. The machine itself is shown-in Fig. l'for, purposes of illustration. Work-holding members 21 to28 inclusive are identical and arranged in spaced relationon the table 6 and fixed thereto. Each work-holding member '21 to 28'has two spaced holes 78 in the bottom thereof for receivingthe pins 17. The table 6 rotates and stops intermittently to bring each work holding member 21 to 128 in turn to-stations under operating units53, '54, 64,a,

and 91a.

Trip devices 31 m "38 inclusive are identical and *are a provided between each of the work-holding members 21 to 28. An enlarged view of one of the trip devices is shown in Fig. 2. The trip device 38 shown in Fig. 2 has an outer cylindrical female member or sleeve 39 which has threads 40 adapted to engage threads 41in the table 6. An elongated cylindrical male. rejection-pin or plunger 42 is slidable in the sleeve 39 and makes sliding contact with the sleeve 39. A lateral hole 44 is formed in the pin 42 and a ball 45 is supported in the hole 44. The ball 45 is opposed by a spring 46. D'etent grooves or notches 47, 48, and 49 are formed on the inside surface of the sleeve 39 to receive the ball 45 to hold the pin 42 in any one of three positions. The plunger 42 has peripheral grooves 50' on the surface thereof which receive washers 51 which are adapted to prevent the pin 42 from being withdrawn from the sleeve '39.

Pin feeding devices 53 and 54 are attached to a feeding mechanism (not shown) which is adapted to feed pins into the holes 78 of thework-holding members 21 to 28 as the respective members pass the devices 53 and 54 as the table 6 rotates. A device 58, shown in detail in Fig. 6, is supported by an arm 57 which in turn is supported by elements 55 and 56 rising from the support 8. A tripping device pin-actuating solenoid 59 is carried on a stationary support 150 at the center of the rotating table 6 by a bracket 60. The bracket 60 is fixed to and supported by the fixed support 150. The solenoid 59 has an iron core 61 which completes a magnetic circuit through a movable core 62. The solenoid 59 is actuated by a coil 63 to which power may be applied in a manner to be later described.

A cam 93 is driven by a shaft 5a which is connected to the main drive shaft 5 of the machine so that switch 67 is held open while the table 6 is indexing.

The detection mechanism 58 is shown in Fig. 6. It is supported on the fixed support 8 and spaced above the table 6 so that the work-holding members 21 to 28 may stop thereunder. The detection mechanism 58 is made up of a hollow body made of non-conducting material with two spring loaded pins 76 and 76a extending from one side thereof. A center disk 74 and a ring 70 are made of electrical conducting material and constitute terminals with a gap therebetween.

A wire 71a is connected to the ring 70 and a wire 66 is connected to the center disk 74 at 72. When the pins 17 are in their proper place in their respective holes in a work-holding member 21 to 28, the pins 76 and 76a will be held up against the force of springs 75 and '79 by the pins 17, and collars 750, which are fixed to the pins 76 and 76a, will be held out of contact with the ring 70 and the center disk 74. Therefore, the electrical circuit between the wires 66 and 71;: will be open. Should one or both of the pins 17 be missing from under one of the pins 76 or 76a, the pin 76 or 76a therefore not having a pin 17 to hold it up, would be forced down by its spring 75 or 79 and, therefore, one or both of the collars 75a would bridge the gap between the center disk 74 and the annular ring 70 and be in a position to complete an electrical circuit between the center disk '74 and the ring 76 at the time that the table 6 has stopped with one of the work-holding members under the detection mechanism 58. The cam 93 will thereafter be rotated to close normally open switch 67. Thus, a circuit will be completed through the mechanism 58 and the solenoid 59 will be actuated. The core 62 of the solenoid'59 will, in turn, drive the pin 42 thereunder away from its center position.

The wafers are fed down a chute 64. A blocking device 64 similar to the solenoid 59 is supported on the fixed support 8 alongside the chute 64- and is actuated by a solenoid 64a which causes an armature 640 to be moved across the chute 64 to close the chute 64 and, thereby,

block the flow of wafers when a defectively loaded work holding member is thereunder so that a wafer will not be fed into a defectively loaded work-holding member since a defective assembly would result. If the pins 17 are properly fed into the work-holding members by the devices 53 and 54, the chute 64, in turn, deposits a wafer 18 into the work-holding members 21 to 28 therebelow over the pins 17 extending upwardly from the holes in the work-holding members.

When the table 6 indexes to bring the badly loaded work-holding member under the chute 64, the pin 42 of the trippingdevice corresponding to the badly loaded work holding member will close switch 84 and thus complete a circuit through the solenoid 64a. This will, in turn, cause the armature 64c to block the feed of wafers from the chute 64 during the time the improperly loaded member is in position under the chute 64.

A solenoid 92 is supported on riveting device a. The riveting device 90a is fixed to support 8. Solenoid 92 is connected through switch 91 to the power supply. When a rejection pin corresponding to a defectively loaded work-holding member engages switch 91 and closes it, solenoid 92 will be energized and the function of riveting device 949a on the defectively loaded work-holding member will be prevented.

Reset devices 98 and 198 are fixed to the frame of the machine and are rotatable on axles 100 and 200 and are disposed respectively above and below the path of travel of the tripping device rejection pins 42. Therefore, as the table 6 rotates, the rejection pins which have been pushed from their neutral positions, as have the pins in the tripping devices 32 and 33 in Fig. 6, will be pushed to the neutral positions by the reset devices 98 and 198, respectively.

To summarize the operation of the machine, the sequence of operation of the machine on a wafer assembly in any one of the work-holding members 21 to 28, if improperly assembled, as it is rotated from station to station is as follows:

As the table 6 is continuously intermittently rotated in the direction of the arrow 300 in Fig. 1 by the intermittent drive mechanism connected to the shaft 5, pins are loaded by the devices 53 and 54 into, for instance, workholding member 22 at what may be termed the first station, and, at the first station thereafter are checked, that is, at the station containing the detection mechanism 58. If one or both pins are missing, or improperly loaded by the devices 53 and 54, the defect will be detected by failure of one or both collars 75a to break the circuit between the disk 74 and the ring 70. Between this step and the next step in the rotation of the table 6, that is, after the faultily loaded work-holding member 22 has advanced under the detection mechanism 58 and upon slight further rotation of the shaft 5 after the work holding member 22 has arrived at the second station and while it remains there, the normally open switch 67 is closed by the cam 93 actuated by mechanism driven from the shaft 5.

Since a circuit is thus made from lead 69a through the switch 67 and one or both depressed collars 75a to the opposite lead 169a the solenoid 59 will cause the core 62 of the pin actuating device to move the pin 42 of the tripping devices 31 to 38 immediately forward of the improperly loaded work holding member, in this instance, pin 42 of the tripping device 32, from its intermediate position. Then as the table 6 advances a fourth time (there being a station shown between the solenoid 59 and the chute 64 at which no operation is performed) to bring the faultily loaded station under the chute 64, the actuated pin 42 will close the normally open switch 84 and complete a circuit through the solenoid 64a which will block the chute 64 and interrupt the feeding of wafers therefrom so that a wafer will not be fed onto the work holding member 22 having faultily loaded pins. When, at the end of this fourth step of rotation, the work holding member 22 arrives below the chute 64, if no fault in the loading of the work holding member 22 has been detected at the station containing the detection mechanism 58, the wafer would be fed from the chute 64 into the work holding member 22.

If no fault in the loading of work receiving member 22 had been detected at the station 58 the core 62 would not have been moved and the pin under pin actuator 62 would have remained in neutral position and hence as it approached chute 64 switch 84 would not have been actuated and the wafer would have been fed from chute 64.

If the wafer receiving device under the riveting device 90a at a given time has been properly loaded, the pins 17 will be riveted. If the work receiving member under 90a has been improperly loaded as to pins and the pin 42 of the tripping device immediately forward of the faultily loaded work receiving member has, therefore, been driven from its neutral position as above stated, then the pin 42 of said tripping device will, as it approaches 90a, hold switch 91 closed while the faultily loaded wafer receiving member is under the riveting device 90a. Thus switch 91 will complete a circuit through solenoid 92 which will, by means of its armature 92s, prevent the riveting from taking place.

The third position shown for the rejection pins 42 of the tripping device 31--38 in Fig. 6 may be utilized to actuate a member at an additional station of the machine shown in Fig. 1. For example, the solenoid 117 can be supported on the support 8 as shown in Fig. 1 and connected in the circuit as shown in Fig. 6 so that when the rejection pin of one of the tripping devices 31--38 has been pushed from its neutral position in a direction opposite to that shown in Fig. 6 for pin 42 of tripping device 32 (in the example shown in Fig. 6, pin 42 of tripping device 33 is shown pushed down), it will close the switch 113, the solenoid 117 will be energized and the armature 117s thereof will move to perform a function at said station.

The foregoing specification sets forth the invention in its preferred practical form but the structure shown is capable of modification within a range of equivalents without departing from the invention which it is to be understood is broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows.

I claim:

1. A tripping device comprising an elongated hollow body member having an internal longitudinal bore therein, means to support said hollow body member in a hole in a member of a machine, a pin slidably disposed in the bore of said hollow body member, means to hold said pin in a first predetermined position in said hollow body member, means to hold said pin in a second position spaced axially from said first position, means to hold said pin in a third position spaced axially from said other positions, said means to hold said pin comprising axially spaced notches on the surface of said bore in said hollow body member, a lateral bore in one side of said pin, and a spring pressed detent in said bore to selectively engage said notches.

2. In an automatic machine, a position where a first operation is performed on an article of manufacture, a second position where a second operation is performed on said article, a tripping device supported on a movable member of said machine, said tripping device comprising an elongated hollow body member having an internal longitudinal bore therein, means to support said hollow body member in a hole in said member of said machine, a pin slidably disposed in the bore of said hollow body member, means to hold said pin in a first predetermined position in said hollow body member, means to hold said pin in a second position spaced axially from said first position, means to hold said pin in a third position spaced axially from said other positions, said means to hold said pin comprising axially spaced notches on the surface of said bore in said hollow body member, a lateral bore in one side of said pin, a spring pressed detent in said bore to selectively engage said notches, means to move said pin to said first position to actuate means to prevent said second operation from being performed at said second position when said first operation has been improperly performed at said first position, and means actuated by said pin when said pin is moved to said third position to control another actuating device.

3. The machine recited in claim 2 wherein means is provided to move said pin to said second position after a complete cycle of operations has been performed on said article.

4. The machine recited in claim 3 wherein a plurality of means to support articles like said article are supported on said movable member of said machine and a tripping device similar to said tripping device is supported adjacent each said article supporting means.

5. The tripping device recited in claim 1 wherein said hollow body member is cylindrical in shape and said means to support said hollow body member in a hole in a member of said machine comprises threads on the outer peripheral surface of said hollow body member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,871,382 Meyer Aug. 9, 1932 1,963,387 Simpson June 19, 1934 2,007,698 Tear July 9, 1935 2,640,617 Spicer June 2, 1953 

